Special teams units in state of transition at BC

It's no secret that Boston College lost almost all of its offensive production to graduation. And yet the biggest loss may turn out to be kicker Nate Freese.

By Eric AvidonDaily News staff

This is the first in a series previewing the upcoming Boston College football season. Up next: The defense.

CHESTNUT HILL — It’s no secret that Boston College lost almost all of its offensive production to graduation.

Andre Williams was a Heisman finalist, Alex Amidon re-wrote the Eagles’ record book at wide receiver, and Chase Rettig was a constant under center for four years. The defense took a hit as well, with playmakers Kevin Pierre-Louis and Kasim Edebali now gone.

And yet the biggest loss may turn out to be Nate Freese.

He was indispensable to a team that had little margin for error, a placekicker who didn’t miss a single field-goal attempt all season, consistantly drilled the ball into the end zone on kickoffs, and even handled the punting duties for BC.

Without him, BC’s special teams, which became a strength last year with renewed emphasis on their importance, are in a state of uncertainty heading into the 2014 season.

Two weeks into fall camp, and with less than two weeks to go before the season starts against UMass at Gillette Stadium, who will handle what on special teams remains unsettled.

"He’s a big loss," second-year BC coach Steve Addazio, who has a background coaching special teams and remains heavily involved in that aspect of the game, said of Freese. "When we got in the red zone last year, we had points. The style of offense we are, we need that. You felt like if you got the ball to that 35-yard line you had points."

Even with Freese’s presence a couple of years ago, BC struggled on special teams. He was solid on field goals but couldn’t reach the end zone on kickoffs very often, and the return game was inconsistent at best.

That turned around quickly with the arrival of Addazio and his staff.

Beyond Freese, Myles Willis became a weapon returning kicks, averaging better than 23 yards per return, and Spiffy Evans and Manny Asprilla each averaged over 11 yards on punt returns.

Yes, the 2,177 yards Williams gained were massive, and the way the defense was able to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks to the tune of 35 sacks was crucial, but success on special teams was a huge part of why the Eagles went from 2-10 in 2012 to 7-6 in 2013 and a bowl game for the first time in three years.

Senior Alex Howell will handle the punting, but there’s a battle between Howell, freshman Mike Knoll, and senior Joey Launceford replace to Freese as the kicker. And none have shown the consistency Freese did in making 70 of 81 career field goal attempts.

"We haven’t made any decisions yet," said special teams coach Sean McGowan. "Between Alex, he’s doing a lot of things well, Mike Knoll has been doing some good things, Joey Launceford on some specific things has been doing some good stuff. We’re just kind of letting it all sort out, and really putting a lot of credence into these next 10 days to nail down who’s going to be doing what."

Willis, meanwhile, isn’t gone, but the sophomore running back is projected to get the bulk of the carries this year and is currently not part of the kickoff return unit. That could change, according to Addazio, but the plan for now is to try and save Willis for his job with the offense.

Jones, Alston, and freshman wide receiver Thaddeus Smith are among those who might handle punt returns with Evans having left BC and Asprilla a starting defensive back.

"Everything is going to come into place really within the next 10 days," said McGowan. "It’s exciting. When we were able to field some kicks last year we were able to flip some field position and really impact us.

"We have a lot of work to do still trying to put the right guys in position to be successful. We’ve got a lot of battles going on."

Yet despite the uncertainty, the potential exists for special teams to remain strong, to complement rather than hinder an offense that’s in transition and a defense that still gives up a lot of points.

The emphasis Addazio places on the kicking and return units — his willingness to use starters like Willis if needed, the best players on the team — leads to that promise.

"This is really important," said Addazio, "and the best players are gonna be in here, and the coaches are in here, and we’re all after this thing together. … We put a lot of time into it; a lot on fundamentals, and a lot of time."

Eric Avidon can be reached at 508-626-3809 or eavidon@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericavidon.